The non-profit sector is bracing for a big wave of volunteer help in the years ahead as Boomers age and re-mix their career priorities. That’s the good news–and the bad– according to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which released a report on trends in volunteerism March 7th at the at the Joint Conference of the American Society on Aging and the National Council on Aging. Seems Boomers are volunteering at higher rates than earlier generations–but retaining and keeping them engaged is proving tougher than expected for non-profits.

Key findings:

• The surge of aging Baby Boomers will increase volunteering by older adults by 50 percent by the year 2020 – and double the number of older adult volunteers by the year 2036.

• Boomers in their late 40s to mid-50s are volunteering at higher rates than did members of previous generations.

• The volunteer activities that hold most appeal for Boomers are management functions, music or performance, and tutoring, mentoring and coaching.

• The more often Boomers volunteer, the more likely they are to volunteer again.

• Boomer volunteers who engage in general labor or supply transportation regularly drop out of volunteering.

• Remaining in the workforce increases the likelihood that a Boomer will continue to volunteer.

Speaking at the conference, David Eisner—CEO of CNCS—worried about other stats in the study underscoring the need for non-profits to re-tool their approach to Boomer volunteers.

“They like challenging and substantial opportunities,” he said. “And they vote with their feet. We are looking at attrition rates among Boomer volunteers of 30 percent ever year. The non-profit sector is doing a poor job providing opportunities and the type of management of these volunteers it takes to keep them fulfilled.”

“Boomers are more discerning about the basics. If they feel their time is being wasted, they’ll drop out. So, the basics of volunteer management are important.”

CNCS administers the federal Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs. The study, “Volunteering among older Americans” is based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 10th, 2007 at 11:55 am and is filed under American Society on Aging, Careers, Non-profits, Workforce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.